Undergarments Receive a Technological Makeover

The wearable technology industry is booming with a multitude of companies developing new wearables to measure various stats such as heart and respiratory rates. However, according to CNN, a company called SmartLife is taking the garments we already wear and giving them an infusion of technology. Conductive yarns, commonly made out of silver, can be woven into fabrics to act as sensors to detect signals, similar to an ECG or EMG, to measure heart rate and muscle activity. Weave the yarn into a tight fitting sports garment like a t-shirt or sports bra, and data is quickly and conveniently collected. A doctor’s first step is usually to take vital signs from a patient, but having baseline information on a patient for a longer period of time could help doctors make better diagnoses based on trends in an individual person’s data.